Not Your Mom's Meatball Stroganoff

As a kid, this was one of my favorite meals! My siblings and I always requested "white meatballs" for dinner. My mom, a single parent with 4 kids, had little time for elaborate meals. She made this with a can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup, ground beef and egg noodles. In my mind, it was the fanciest dinner and it always delicious! Because we moved around a lot when we where kids, this meal represents comfort, family and home. I hope you enjoy the vegan version we have here for you. It's fancier than the one of my youth but still hits all the comfort buttons.

Ingredients

1lb of asparagus monks meats, ground ( any seitan available will work too)

1 medium onion, finely chopped, divided in half.

½ cup of bread crumbs

.2 cloves of minced garlic

1 tsp of ground pepper

¼ cup finely chopped parsley

1tbs of fresh thyme

¼ cup of vital wheat gluten

¼ cup of olive oil- half for meatballs and half for cooking

½ lb cremini mushrooms thinly sliced

½ cup of red table wine or dry sherry ( whatever you have on hand or pairing with dinner)

2 cups of warm vegetable stock

2tbs of “butter”

2tbs of flour

½ cup vegan sour cream

1lb bag of your favorite pasta. Traditionally, this is served with egg noodles (not vegan) but we like it with rombi or chiocciole.

Heat the remaining 2tbs of olive oil in a large skillet over med- high heat. Add about half the meatballs, you really don’t want to over crowed them. Shake and turn until browned all around, about 5-7 minutes.

Transfer to a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 20minutes. This will help the balls stay together. When done pull out and leave on counter to cool.

In the same skillet add the 2tbs of butter, allow to melt and then add the rest of the onions. Cook until translucent, stirring often, a good 5 minutes.

Add the sliced mushrooms and cook making sure to turn and flip so both sides are allowed to really sweat. Stirring until most the liquid has evaporated, about 7 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour around the entire skillet and mix into the mushroom onion mix really well really.

Pour wine or sherry in to the skillet and stir in quickly. It should get really thick.

Slowly pour in the stock mixing 1 cup in at a time. Keep stirring while gravy starts to thicken up, bring to a slow boil.

Transfer the “meatballs” to the gravy and gently stir to coat all the balls. You can reduce the heat here to low.

Monk's Meats Chili

Seized by the craving for something hearty and body warming, I needed a quick recipe for chili. Starting from this 30-minute-chili I found on the internet, I made a few (vegan) substitution- more beans, replaced the beef with our Chipotle Monk’s Meats, added carrots and cashews. It needed more time to simmer, but it was an all together satisfying stew!

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 medium onions, chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

3 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 pound ground Chipotle Monk’s Meats ( food processor works great )

1/2 cup of chopped carrots

1/2 cup of raw whole cashews

3 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes in juice

1 can of Blue Point toasted lager ( any other mild lager will work fine)

3 cans (14.5 ounces each) of beans, rinsed and drained ( I used kidney beans. An assortment would make it better!)

DIRECTIONS

In a Dutch oven or large (5-quart) heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes with their juice, beer, and beans. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a rapid simmer. Cook over medium heat until chili has thickened and beans and carrots are tender, 25 - 30minutes. Top with any desired condiments! I used some tofutti sour cream

TOFU & RICE SOUP

After a busy week, this Tofu and Rice soup was perfect on a gloomy Sunday. Chilly, wet weather always makes us crave soups and there's just something nice about a one pot meal - the clean up, for one, is a breeze. This is a simple soup with only a few ingredients that reminded us of the childhood comfort of chicken soup and rice. The "secret ingredient" here is turmeric. Turmeric is a spice common in Indian and South Asia cuisines. It is reported to have many health benefits and gives the soup a beautiful yellow hue. You don't need a lot because it packs a punch! We used a simple kombu broth for this soup, but your favorite veggie stock will work great. Enjoy with a warmed hunk of bread.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 a block of extra firm tofu cut in to 1/4" cubes

2oz of vegan butter

2 quarts of vegetable broth

1/2 cup if chopped onions

1/2 cup of chopped celery

1/2 cup of chopped carrots

1/2 cup of jasmine rice

1/2 tsp of ground turmeric

Salt & Pepper to taste

﻿DIRECTIONS﻿

In a medium size sauce pan melt the butter. Add the chopped onions and celery and saute for a few minutes, until they look translucent.Add the cubed tofu and the turmeric, cook for 5 minutes browning the cubes slightly. Add the carrots and rice, continue to cook for a few more minutes. Stir to coat all the rice with the oil and turmeric. Pour in the vegetable broth and simmer on medium until it starts to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the rice is soft, about 20 minutes. Enjoy!